Overuse or underuse? Use of healthcare services among irregular migrants in a north-eastern Spanish region
| Autor: | Beatriz Poblador-Plou, Esperanza Diaz, Alexandra Prados-Torres, Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga, Marta Pastor-Sanz, Luis Andrés Gimeno-Feliu |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Immigration 0302 clinical medicine Health care 030212 general & internal medicine media_common Social policy Transients and Migrants 030503 health policy & services Health Policy lcsh:Public aspects of medicine Health services research Health Services Middle Aged Hospitalization Geography population characteristics Female 0305 other medical science Emergency service geographic locations Adult Healthcare use medicine.medical_specialty Prescription drug Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject Healthcare disparities Young Adult 03 medical and health sciences Drug utilization medicine Humans Health policy Aged Retrospective Studies business.industry Research Public health Health services accessibility Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health lcsh:RA1-1270 Country of origin Spain Undocumented migrant business Emigration and immigration Primary healthcare Facilities and Services Utilization Demography |
| Zdroj: | Zaguán. Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza instname International Journal for Equity in Health, Vol 20, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021) Zaguán: Repositorio Digital de la Universidad de Zaragoza Universidad de Zaragoza International Journal for Equity in Health 20:41 |
| Popis: | Background There is little verified information on global healthcare utilization by irregular migrants. Understanding how immigrants use healthcare services based on their needs is crucial to establish effective health policy. We compared healthcare utilization between irregular migrants, documented migrants, and Spanish nationals in a Spanish autonomous community. Methods This retrospective, observational study included the total adult population of Aragon, Spain: 930,131 Spanish nationals; 123,432 documented migrants; and 17,152 irregular migrants. Healthcare utilization data were compared between irregular migrants, documented migrants and Spanish nationals for the year 2011. Multivariable standard or zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were generated, adjusting for age, sex, length of stay, and morbidity burden. Results The average annual use of healthcare services was lower for irregular migrants than for documented migrants and Spanish nationals at all levels of care analyzed: primary care (0.5 vs 4 vs 6.7 visits); specialized care (0.2 vs 1.8 vs 2.9 visits); planned hospital admissions (0.3 vs 2 vs 4.23 per 100 individuals), unplanned hospital admissions (0.5 vs 3.5 vs 5.2 per 100 individuals), and emergency room visits (0.4 vs 2.8 vs 2.8 per 10 individuals). The average annual prescription drug expenditure was also lower for irregular migrants (€9) than for documented migrants (€77) and Spanish nationals (€367). These differences were only partially attenuated after adjusting for age, sex, and morbidity burden. Conclusions Under conditions of equal access, healthcare utilization is much lower among irregular migrants than Spanish nationals (and lower than that of documented migrants), regardless of country of origin or length of stay in Spain. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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